Susie and Hobbes
by SuperJimmy978
Summary: What would happen if Susie could suddenly see Hobbes the way Calvin does?
1. The Day It All Changed

The Saturday morning sky shone through Susie Derkins' window. She was dressed in a white shirt and black overalls, and she sat at a lime green plastic table, with her stuffed rabbit Mr. Bun on the other side of the plastic table. Her room was decorated a bright white, and right behind Susie was her bed, with hot pink comforters and pillows.

"Would you like some tea, Mr. Bun?" Susie said as she dipped some tea into Mr. Bun's plastic cup. Then Susie chuckled. "Ha ha, no, Mr. Bun. I can't believe second grade starts in three weeks, either. First grade felt like it lasted ten years – who knows how long second grade will feel like."

Mr. Bun sat there, completely silent. Nevertheless, Susie chuckled again. "I wonder what my teacher will be like, Mr. Bun? Will they be a fun teacher, or will they be like Ms. Wormwood?"

After a few more moments, Susie groaned. "Yes, I am afraid of Calvin being in my class. He was the reason first grade felt like it dragged. From dressing up as a superhero to do a test, to that time he got me in trouble over the bug collection, to the report on Mercury…."

Susie shuddered. "I can't believe I remember all of that so well. I promise, Mr. Bun, I really do try to block Calvin's antics out of my mind. Sometimes I wonder what he will be like ten to 15 years from now, but I always try to brush it off as 'not my problem', you know?"

Susie's thoughts were interrupted when she heard a familiar voice screaming from outside. She sighed before going over the window. When she got on her tiptoes, she saw Calvin running around outside, with his stuffed tiger Hobbes.

Through the window, Susie could make out part of what Calvin was saying. "No, Hobbes, you can't do that! You're ruining the game! Get back here, fluffball, or I will make you into a rug!"

Susie shook her head. Then she looked over her shoulder, back to Mr. Bun. "What was that?" she asked. "Oh, yes, I do like Hobbes. He's a cutie. I wish he was my tiger and not Calvin's. That would be great."

Susie then cupped her chin. "Although, Calvin can act really weird around Hobbes. I've been wondering about that for a while now. The way he talks to that tiger…it's almost as if he actually thinks Hobbes is real. And if he thinks Hobbes is real, what is he going to die ten years from how? Heck, what is he going to do _five _years from now? You can't play with stuffed animals forever, after all."

Susie covered her mouth and flushed. "I-I-I meant no offense, Mr. Bun! I w-will always keep you around, I promise! Even when I get…real…friends…." Susie said, before pausing and sighing. "Okay, I'm not going to talk about that with you yet. Point is, Mr. Bun, that I will always keep you around!"

Susie then ran up to Mr. Bun and hugged the stuffed rabbit.

Just a moment later, her door opened. It was her mother. Mrs. Derkins had a brown, long ponytail, and she wore a black long-sleeved shirt, jeans, and tennis shoes.

"Hey, honey," Mrs. Derkins said, smiling at her daughter. "I'm sorry to interrupt tea time with Mr. Bun, but your father and I want to talk with you downstairs. It's very important."

Susie tilted her head, but said, "Okay," and trotted out of her room with her mother. They went down the stairs, and it was not long before they were in the living room.

There, on the sofa, sat Mr. Derkins. Mr. Derkins had dark brown hair and a five o'clock shadow, and wore a dark plaid shirt and khaki pants.

"Have a seat, Susie," Mrs. Derkins said.

Susie sat down at the armchair. "What did you guys want to talk to me about?"

Mrs. Derkins fidgeted around with her hands and clenched her teeth. She took a moment and looked aside, before returning eye contact with Susie.

"Look, Susie, we are very, very sorry for this. We truly are. But sometimes in life, people have to make decisions that are difficult to do. Sometimes what's ultimately best for us isn't the easiest choice, you see, and know that this is not your fault in the slightest -"

"Your mother and I are getting a divorce," Mr. Derkins blurted out.

Mrs. Derkins groaned at her husband while Susie felt her stomach tie up into a thousand nasty knots. "You're….you're…what?! What did I do wrong?!"

Mr. Derkins stood up and shook his head. "No, no, sweetie. Your mom is right. This really is not your fault in the slightest. In fact, this has been brewing for a while, but we tried to wait for the right time because we didn't want to hurt you."

Then he sighed. "But it's like she said. Sometimes, we have to make difficult decisions."

Susie's mouth went agape. She had no idea what to say. She could feel a few tears trying to break free, but she did her best to stop them from trickling down.

"There's something important you should know, Susie," Mrs. Derkins said, raising her hands up. "Your dad and I don't hate each other. A lot of divorced couples these days are bitter, but that won't be the case with us. It's just…neither of us feel the spark that we once had for each other."

Mr. Derkins nodded. "In about a week or so, I'll be moving out of the house. I've already found an apartment to live in. It's not too far from your school. Your mom and I still have to figure out what days she will have you and what days I will have you."

Mr. Derkins leaned down and kissed Susie's head. "But whatever happens in the future, just know that we still love you more than anything."

Mrs. Derkins kissed her daughter's head as well. "And we always will."

Susie nodded. "I'm going to go outside. I just need to process all of this."

The Derkins parents looked at each other before nodding, and Susie opened her front door and went outside.

* * *

'_They said it's not your fault, they said it's not your fault, they said it's not your fault_' Susie thought to herself as she played with a doll in the driveway.

She let out a deep sigh. As she started at her Barbie doll, she tried to think of any sign that her parents were about to get a divorce. But she could hardly think of anything. She could not remember any yelling, any hostility, or any arguments. Well, she thought she should yelling one night a month ago, but that was the only sign. And what parents don't argue from time to time.

Mr and Mrs. Derkins sure had hidden their problems well from her.

"Okay, Susie…okay…" she said, closing her eyes and looking down at the ground. "I think I just to sleep this over. But it's 3:00 and bedtime's not for a while. Maybe I can take a nap. Ooh, but it has been a while since I've napped."

Susie then looked over at her house. '_But maybe it would be best to take a nap and relax. Yeah, I think I'll do that._'

She then grabbed her Barbie doll up by her hand, and said out loud, "Alright, Barbie, let's go take a nap. Barbie Junior is probably done with school by now."

She began walking up to her house. But just a few moments later, she felt something come from behind her. She fell to the ground. Susie began to get all wet, and the cement felt hard as she was knocked down.

It didn't take Susie so much as a nanosecond to figure out what had happened. She got back up on her feet, and turned around to see Calvin laughing, with his stuffed tiger by his side.

"You creep!" Susie snarled, pointing towards Calvin. "Now is not the time to annoy me! I happen to be in a very bad mood!"

Calvin snickered. "You always seem to be in a bad mood, Susie. Don't even pretend otherwise! You always get angry at me!"

"Because you try and attack me first! I've always tried to be nice to you, but you're nothing but a cruel jerk! Now get over here!"

Calvin bolted away, dust trailing from behind him as he did so. Hobbes was left behind, and Susie began to leave dust in her tracks as well as she followed after Calvin.

"I've just about had it with your pranks, Calvin!"

"Catch me if you can!" Calvin said, continuing to run.

They ran away from the front yards and treaded into the grass, into Susie's backyard. The woods were visible down, and Calvin seemed to be charging towards them. It was not long before Susie tackled Calvin.

"When have I never caught you, Calvin, you moron?!"

Calvin growled. "Why are you girls always so moody?!"

Susie grabbed Calvin by his shirt and began shaking him. "Because you're always being so mean to me anyway, for no reason at all, and now my parents are getting a divorce!"

"I…" Calvin began, before his eyes widened and his mouth went agape. "Wait, hold on just a moment."

Susie raised an eyebrow, and let go of Calvin's shirt.

"Your parents are getting a divorce?" Calvin asked.

Susie sighed. "Yes, yes, they are, Calvin. I just found out today. It was quite the bombshell."

Calvin nodded. "…Oh….I'm -"

"Now get the heck away from me!"

Calvin shook his head and groaned. "No, no, no, no – look Susie, I just wanted to say that I'm really sorry that that's happening to you."

Susie blinked. "Oh. Tha-than-thank you, Calvin."

Susie could not believe that Calvin, of all people, was showing her this kind of empathy. Then a crazy voice spoke in her mind, that between her parents suddenly getting a divorce out of nowhere and Calvin showing concern for someone other than himself, that she must have popped out into an alternate world somehow.

But no, that was simply too crazy.

"It's not easy having to deal with it, Calvin. Especially since I really don't have any shoulders to cry on. Much like how all you have is Hobbes, all I have is Mr. Bun. Look at us, only having stuffed animals for friends!"

Calvin extended his hand out. "I'll have you know that Hobbes is far more than just a stuffed animal! He is a ferocious, conniving tiger, and – HEY!"

Calvin looked over his shoulder and saw Hobbes sitting by the side of Susie's sky blue house, next to some lush green bushes.

Susie tilted her head, and Calvin began shouting, "You thought you could sneak away, did you?! Well, guess who finally managed to catch you! HA!"

Susie looked at Calvin, then over to Hobbes, and then back over to Calvin. "Wait!" she said. "How did Hobbes do that?"

Calvin looked over at Susie with a furrowed eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"How did Hobbes move there on his own?"

"He walked over there by himself. Duh!"

"But _how _did Hobbes do that? How does a stuffed toy just move there on its own? This isn't _Toy Story_, for Pete's sake!"

Calvin bit his lip. "He. Walked. Ov. Er. There. By. Him. Self. Duh. Duh. Duh!"

Susie clenched her fists and fumed. "There you go again, being a massive jerk! All I'm doing is pointing out something that should be all means be impossible, and you're being your usual snide self! Just when I thought you weren't all bad!"

"I was trying to show you some compassion, but now _you're _the one being a huge jerk!"

"That's it, I oughta -"

The two began slapping their hands against one another. Susie felt her chest and her cheeks sting as the two fought.

The two began to growl at each other, and as Calvin began to run, Susie cracked her knuckles.

But then a yellow water balloon appeared right out of nowhere and struck Calvin from behind. It truly seemed that the water balloon had teleported from thin air.

"What…what the heck?!" Susie asked.

Calvin growled. "Hobbes! Not now!"

"Ha ha ha. You thought you were finally catching me, didn't you," a voice said. Susie had never heard the voice before in her life. It sounded young yet deep. "But you thought wrong. We tigers are naturals at the art of sneaking up!"

From the corner of her eye, Susie thought she saw something. She didn't want to believe that she was seeing it, though. She tried to block the sight out of her mind. But the sight came closer and closer into her view, until Susie could no longer ignore it.

It was a tiger. A tiger that appeared two to three heads taller than Calvin and Susie. It stood upright, with small legs and long arms. Susie felt like her jaw was dropping down onto the floor.

"I'm so making you into a rug, you hear me, Hobbes?!" Calvin said, shaking his fist against the tiger.

Susie's eyes bulged. "H-Hobbes?!"

Hobbes looked over to Susie, and he smiled. "Why hello, Susie."

Susie began to feel dizzy. Moments later, she fell to the ground, and everything went black.


	2. Getting Acquainted

When Susie's sight regained consciousness, the first thing she saw was a blurry version of the tiger that she had encountered, kneeling down and looking at her with a frown. After a few moments, Susie's vision cleared, and the tiger could clearly be seen.

"Hey, are you alright?" 'Hobbes' asked.

Susie shrieked and backed away. "What are you?! What on Earth are you?"

Calvin was standing a few feet away, scratching his head. "Susie, what are you doing?"

"Don't you see the talking tiger that's right there?!" Susie yelled in response, pointing at 'Hobbes' as she did so.

"Well, of course I do. That's Hobbes."

Hobbes raised his eyes into the air. "Alright, Susie, just take a deep breath."

Susie was breathing heavily, her eyes almost bulging out of her face, and she got back on her feet. "So…you really are Hobbes?"

"That is correct, Ms. Derkins."

Susie shook her head. "Nope. No way. This has to be a dream," she said, before she cupped her chin. "Although…this would explain why Calvin always treats you as if you were real. But I need to know: Why did I see you as a stuffed toy until five minutes ago?"

Hobbes rubbed his neck. "Oh. Right. That…"

Calvin sneered. "What the heck are you talking about, Susie? Goodness, girls are just so -"

"Now, now, Calvin," Hobbes said, wagging his finger at Calvin. "You just let me handle this, half-pint," he said, before turning his head to face Susie. "Calvin sees me one way, and most other people see me a different way. And you, Susie, can now see me in the one way that Calvin can."

"But how did that happen, Hobbes? Why only now can I see you as a living tiger."

Hobbes placed his finger by his mouth. "Now that, I don't know. The only thing I can think of is that your parents getting divorced has something to do with it, somehow."

Susie held her chest and took a few more deep breaths. "Okay, okay, I really just need to take a moment. I just-I just-I-I-I don't-WHAT?!"

Calvin waved his hand. "Alright, Susie, you're just being a doofus now. Come on, Hobbes, let's go have a G.R.O.S.S. meeting."

Hobbes shook his head. "No, no I don't think I will."

Calvin looked over his shoulder and narrowed his eyes. "Come on, fuzz bucket. We don't have time for Susie going crazy right now."

Susie snarled and yelled "OH, THAT'S SOME NERVE COMING FROM YOU!"

"Truth be told," Hobbes said, clearing his throat. "It's sort of a refreshing change of pace to have someone who I can truly interact with. Having only one person to talk to can be a bit tiring."

"What do you mean, tiring?!" Calvin yelled out as he flailed his hands into the air. "It must be great to have only one person to talk to! You don't have to deal with any jerks or idiots!"

"Sorry, Calvin, but my mind is made up. I would like to spend some time with Susie."

Calvin growled and cracked his knuckles, before yelling angrish and storming off. Hobbes looked over to Susie, who wasn't really sure what to say at the moment.

* * *

The only thing Susie could think of to do was bring her tea party stuff out from her house and invite Hobbes along for some tea, just like what had happened when Susie first met him as a stuffed toy. Hobbes sat opposite Susie, with Mr. Bun now sitting at Susie's left. Susie took one more deep breath.

"So, Hobbes," Susie said as he poured some tea into her cup. "What's it like, hanging out with Calvin all the time?"

Hobbes snickered. "Oh, it's an interesting roller coaster. He is quite the character."

"You don't have to tell me twice, Hobbes."

"I get around it by messing with him all the time. I love pouncing on him when he gets home from school, I one-up him in our water balloon and snowball fights, and I give him the wrong answers on his math questions."

Susie sipped on her tea. "What you mean by that?"

"When he wants me to tell him what 2 + 5 is or what 11 – 7 equals, I give him these ridiculously complicated answers, using imaginary numbers or adding up the numbers themselves, like 7 + 3 being 73."

Hobbes stared at his tea. "It's the one thing where I sometimes wonder if I'm being too mean," the tiger said with a frown, before chuckling. "But come on. Those are the easiest questions in the world. He should really be answer them by himself, for goodness' sake. I just want him to learn a lesson for once."

Susie laughed. "I can mess around with him, too. When he tries to copy my work, I tell him the answer is some massive number, like telling him that 3 + 4 is a billion. A billion! I cannot believe how dumb he is at school!"

Hobbes grimaced, and looked down at the ground. "No. Not dumb."

Susie raised an eyebrow.

"Calvin is a very bright kid with a great detail of potential. He could be brilliant at school if he truly tried. It's just that the school system genuinely doesn't work for him. He likes learning in other ways."

Susie tilted her head. "I guess that never really occurred to me."

Hobbes shook his head and raised his hand up to let Susie know that it was alright. Then the tiger had another sip of his tea, while Susie wondered about Hobbes. She thought of all the times she had seen Hobbes around Calvin before, with her now knowing how Calvin truly saw him. She thought of any possible discrepancies that could be explained by Hobbes being alive, and then her head jolted up.

She placed her hands by her hip. "Wait a minute! Were _you _the one that ate all my cookies at our first tea party? And that piece of chocolate cake at my birthday?!"

Hobbes snickered, giving Susie her answer.

Just then, Mrs. Derkins came out of the house, presumably to water the plants for the day. Mrs. Derkins seemed to see Susie and Hobbes from the corner of her eye, but paid no mind to the talking tiger that was in her front yard drinking tea with her daughter. Hobbes simply took another sip of the tea that he was drinking, while taking a look at Mr. Bun.

Then Susie peered her head up. She swore she could hear the sound of a twig breaking. Hobbes' ears acted up, suggesting that he heard it as well. Hobbes raised his finger up to Susie before getting up from his seat and cracking his knuckles.

Then Susie could hear footsteps charging from her right and looked over to see Calvin preparing to attack the two with two water balloons.

"This is for choosing to hang out with Susie over me, traitor!" Calvin yelled, preparing to throw one of the water balloons at his tiger.

But Hobbes barred his teeth, unsheathed his claws, and roared. Dust gathered into the air as Calvin tried to come to an abrupt halt. Then he ran away, to which Hobbes got down on all fours and began racing towards the running six-year-old boy.

"Wait! No! This isn't fair! This isn't fair!" Calvin yelled as he ran towards his house.

But Hobbes jumped in the air and pounced upon Calvin, while Susie watched from her seat, scratching her head. Calvin groaned while on the ground, and Hobbes grabbed both of the water balloons, which had landed a few feet away from Calvin. He threw them at Calvin when the latter tried getting off his feet.

"Six-year-old boys just can't sneak up on tigers. Our hearing is too good."

Calvin snarled up at Hobbes, who had his hands behind his back.

"Just give me about two more minutes with Susie, and then I'll come right home."

Calvin let out a 'hmmph' before stomping away to his house. As he shrank in the distance, Hobbes went over to Susie's table to finish his cup of tea.

"So, Susie, would you like to play some pranks on Calvin sometime?"

Susie blinked. "Well, assuming this is indeed real and not a dream, then yes, having someone help me against Calvin would be a joy!"

"Alright, sounds great. Now, I'm hungry and I need to get some tuna in my belly. I'll catch you later."

And with that, Hobbes waved at Susie and walked away to the house. As Susie saw her mom in the corner of her eye, she wondered what that would look like to her. Would she see a stuffed toy moving all on its own, or did Hobbes somehow turn invisible like this? Susie could feel some smoke pouring from her head just thinking about it, and she also felt knots in her stomach.

"Hey, Mom!" Susie cried out towards Mrs. Derkins, who looked over her shoulder. "You didn't see anything weird, did you?'

Mrs. Derkins scratched her head. "Um, no, dear. I mean, I thought it was weird that you were having tea with Calvin's toy tiger…is everything alright?"

Susie chuckled. "Yes, Mom, everything is alright. I just wanted to check."

Susie looked over to Calvin's house, and saw the door close. She wondered if Calvin's parents could hear that since it was Hobbes who was closing the door. His existence simply raised a mountain of questions.

Susie decided it was best to sleep it off at night. She bit her lip, and she did have to admit that it was something to keep her mind off the news of her parents' divorce.

* * *

While Mrs. Derkins was watching a nightly talk show, Mr. Derkins sat at the edge of Susie's bed, reading her a bedtime story. It was some cliched story about a knight saving a princess from the dragon and having a happily ever after, which Susie thought would've been too outdated to event take seriously anymore.

She wasn't even paying attention to the actual story. Her father's words were drowned out by her mind. She stared in his general area, but wasn't truly looking at her father. Susie began to wonder about couples that lived a happily ever after in classic stories. Was there a chance that _they _would end up divorced in the end? Granted, divorce didn't seem quite as prevalent back then as it is now, but the question still lingered in Susie's mind.

Then Susie heard her father utter the equally cliched words of living happily ever after and proclaiming 'The End' to the story.

"Alright, Susie, I gotta make some calls to Grandma and my brother," Mr. Derkins said, before kissing Susie's forehead. "Good night, honey."

"Good night, daddy…" Susie said. She stayed in bed, with Mr. Bun by her side, watching as her father began to leave the room.

"Daddy, wait!" Susie said, making Mr. Derkins stop in his tracks right as he was about to close the door behind him.

"What is it?" he asked in response.

"Um, so you're absolutely sure that you and Mom won't be bitter towards each other?"

Mr. Derkins looked down at his feet and sighed, before walking over to Susie. "Yes, honey. I promise that your mom and I will be amicable."

Then he sat on the edge of Susie's bed again. "In fact, I have some experience with how bad a divorce can be. You know Ronnie, my best friend? Well, when we were in high school, his parents got a divorce," he said, before grimacing. "And my God, was it ugly. His parents could hardly stand to be in the same room as each other. Ronnie practically lived at my house for a few weeks because it was so bad."

Mr. Derkins sighed again. "I remember how hard that was on him. And the last thing in the world I want is to inflict that on you. That's a promise."

"Alright, thanks, Daddy."

And with that, Mr. Derkins shut the lights off of Susie's room and left to go downstairs, while Susie began falling asleep in her bed. Between the divorce and Hobbes, she truly had no idea what tomorrow would hold.


	3. The Favor

Susie sat on the front door step as she watched her father leave with the moving van. She watched it until it took a left turn and left the street entirely, and Susie could no longer see it. She was going to go see her father's new apartment tomorrow, once most of the stuff had been unpacked.

Susie's mind told her not to go inside the house. It would feel weird for her, knowing that all of her father's belongings were gone. Instead, she headed off into the backyard to play with Mr. Bun.

She walked over to the backyard, and saw Mr. Bun laying down on the ground, where she had left him.

"Well, it finally happened," Susie said as she lifted Mr. Bun up. "Daddy's officially moved out, and tomorrow we'll see his new place. I really wonder what it'll look like."

She dragged Mr. Bun around, and continued talking, "It's sure going to be weird, essentially having two homes. Mom says they have to talk about visitation rights during the process of the divorce, so that's when I'll find out when I'll be staying with Mom and when I'll be staying with Daddy."

Susie was interrupted when she heard a voice shout, "Because it will build character, Calvin!"

She turned to her left to see Calvin and his father bickering in their backyard. His father, Mr. Johnson, wore a red collared shirt and cargo shorts, plus long white socks and tennis shoes.

"Why is it always about building character?! I have enough character as is! I don't need any more!" Calvin shouted back at his dad.

"Oh, you could certainly build a lot more character, young man! Especially after today's stunts!" Mr. Johnson shouted back at him. "Now get back inside and scrub that toilet!"

"Absolutely not!"

And with that, Calvin darted away into the woods, with Mr. Johnson snarling. "Calvin, get back here right now!"

Mr. Johnson chased his mischievous son into the woods. "Calvin!"

Susie rolled her eyes at Calvin being Calvin. Although she did think Mr. Johnson was a bit old fashioned. She heard that Calvin's parents hollered and bickered long into the night before he would get WiFi for his house. What fun that must have been.

Susie looked over, and saw Hobbes nuzzling in the backyard, sleeping contently with a smile on his face.

She heard the back door open, and saw Calvin's mom coming outside. She wore a pink tanktop, blue shorts, black sneakers, and a large yellow hat. Mrs. Johnson looked at Hobbes and sighed.

"Calvin, stop leaving your toy tiger alone," she said to herself, sighing.

So evidently, even though Susie saw Mrs. Johnson and Hobbes' living form at the same time, the former still saw the latter only as a stuffed tiger.

A light bulb appeared over Susie's head. If she went over to talk to Hobbes, what would affect how Mrs. Johnson would perceive the tiger. She began walking over to Hobbes, who seemed to have his eyes half-open, but continued laying down on the ground. She greeted Hobbes, and the tiger bolted up.

He looked at Susie. "Oh! …Hey there."

"Sorry to interrupt your nap."

"Oh, it's all good, I guess."

Susie turned her gaze from Hobbes to the woods. "So, what did Calvin do _this _time, to make his dad want him to clean the toilet?"

Hobbes chuckled lightly. "Calvin somehow managed to pull off the shower head. I'm not even sure how his tiny butt made it up to the shower head, but he broke it off. And then he broke one of the vases with a slingshot."

Susie raised an eyebrow. "Why would he do that?"

Hobbes narrowed his eyes. "It's Calvin."

"Fair enough."

Hobbes stretched his arms with a smile. "I doubt anything he does will ever be able to top the Noodle Incident."

Susie tilted her head. "The Noodle Incident? What's this Noodle Incident? What on Earth did Calvin -"

And then Susie paused and widened her eyes. Her memory was jogged, and she now knew exactly what Hobbes was talking about. "Oooooh. _That_. I couldn't stop staring when I saw what had happened. And Calvin's explanation deserved a Pulitzer."

"Funny. I told him that exact thing once."

Before Susie could say anything, she heard footsteps approaching her, and she looked up to see Mrs. Johnson with completely baffled eyes.

"Susie, um, what are you doing?" Mrs. Johnson said, scratching her head.

Susie let out several 'uh's and raised her finger up, and she began looking around for any way to explain this. "Um, I was, uh, I was just…"

Then she shrugged. "I was bored, I guess. I got nothing to do, and with my dad moving out today, I just really wanted to something to take my mind away."

Mrs. Johnson blinked. "Erm…okay. I hope you aren't going through too much grief."

"I promise you, I'm doing fine. My parents are making it a point not to act nasty around each other."

Mrs. Johnson smiled and nodded. "That's very good to hear," she said, before she looked at Hobbes and her smile disappeared. "I guess it was just weird, seeing you having a full conversation with Hobbes. Calvin does it all the time. I know Hobbes is just an imaginary friend, but sometimes I wonder if he actually thinks Hobbes is a real tiger."

Then Mrs. Johnson walked away. "Anyway, I have to tend to my plants. Tell your mom I said hi."

Susie agreed to do so. And that confirmed her hypothesis. Mrs. Johnson appeared to have seen a good chunk of the conversation, yet still did not see Hobbes as a real tiger. Meaning that Susie and Calvin must have been the only two people on the planet who saw Hobbes as something other than a stuffed toy.

She looked at Hobbes, who was back to napping. Then she heard screaming from the forest, and turned to see Mr. Johnson carrying Calvin out of the woods as the latter wailed his arms around in an attempt to break free of his grasp.

Mr. Johnson growled. "Calvin, if you wouldn't act like a little monster all the freaking time, you wouldn't have these kind of problems!"

As the two passed by Susie, she walked away, figuring it was best to go back and see Mr. Bun. But then she saw her mother watering the plants just like Mrs. Johnson was, and decided to go over to her mom to ask her a question.

"Mom," she began, and Mrs. Derkins looked over her shoulder to look at Susie.

"What is it, sweetie?" Mrs. Derkins replied as she turned around fully.

"How come it's Daddy who's moving out while you'll be staying at the house."

Mrs. Derkins closed her eyes and sighed. "It's just the way it is. Whenever a man and a woman get a divorce, it's often the man who moves out to find a new home, particularly when children are involved. Mothers are often considered the primary caretakers for children, which helps the mom keep the house by that virtue."

Susie tilted her head. "But I thought you and Daddy put an equal amount of time in taking care of me."

Mrs. Derkins kneeled down and placed her hand on Susie's shoulder. "I'm not saying your father doesn't try to take care of you. He loves you more than anything. This is just how it is."

Susie nodded. "Okay, I think I understand."

And with that, Susie decided to leave in order to discuss things further with Mr. Bun, dragging her stuffed rabbit along the grass.

* * *

Later that day Susie was still in her backyard. She looked over and stared at Mr. Bun, sitting down on her lap.

"No, Mr. Bun, I don't fully know what to expect going forward. Heck, I have no idea what to expect for the future. I'm supposed to see Daddy's new place tomorrow, but then they have to talk about custody."

Mr. Bun simply stayed there, motionless.

"I think Mom said they were going to try and get shared custody. I figured they'd both want to do that, but I hear many divorces will have one parent get full custody of the other, so I'm just glad I won't have to go through that."

Mr. Bun still stood lifelessly opposite Susie. Susie sighed at this. It was definitely weird going back to Mr. Bun now that she could interact with a talking tiger. Why Hobbes was a living being when Mr. Bun wasn't had been eating the back of Susie's mind like a someone who hadn't eaten in days. Then she began to think of what would happen if Hobbes came along with her to see her father's apartment. Would that help make the transition any easier for her, having an animal who could actually interact with Susie and the environment around her instead of Mr. Bun, who seemed to be forever confined to the form of a plush rabbit. It made Susie cup her chin.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she swore she could hear footsteps. Then, she felt some kind of mushy fruit being thrown towards her back. She squealed as she landed down onto the ground. She didn't even have to turn around to see who it was.

She got up, and turned around to see Calvin fleeing, with Hobbes running alongside him.

Susie snarled. "Get back here, you little creep!"

And Susie bolted, charging and charging until she tackled Calvin down to the ground and yanked his shirt.

"Ack! Okay, enough!" Calvin said as he squirmed around.

Susie clenched her teeth. "Shouldn't you be scrubbing toilets!"

Calvin smirked. "I should be, yes. But of course I was going to find a way around it."

"Figures," Susie replied, her eyes narrow. Then she looked up at Hobbes. "So, Hobbes, why were _you _helping Calvin with this little prank? I thought you and I were becoming friends."

Hobbes placed his hands behind his back and looked away. "Well, Calvin is still my roommate and friend, so I'll still help him every now and then."

Susie shook her head. "Fine. I see how it is. I was actually going to ask you if you wanted to come with me to my dad's apartment tomorrow."

Hobbes perked up at this, and he looked down at Susie, raising his hands up. "Whoa, whoa, whoa…why would you want me to do that?'

Susie shrugged. "I'm not really that sure. I just wondered if perhaps having you around would make it a little easier to adjust. Again, I don't know why? Maybe just having someone to talk to as I look round my dad's new home?"

Calvin crossed his arms and scoffed. "As if! Hobbes would never leave me to go along with you!"

Hobbes intertwined his fingers and bit his lip, to which Calvin shot a piercing glare at the tiger.

"What does that look on your face mean, fuzzball?"

Hobbes cracked his knuckles. "Well, now that Susie mentions it, it might not be such a bad idea."

Calvin's mouth went agape. "Hobbes, how could you?! You're going to leave me to go hang out with Susie?!"

"Just for a day, to help her adjust to her father's new apartment. I'll be back, don't you worry. And I know how you like to get in trouble without me. Go pretend to be Spaceman Spiff or something."

Calvin groaned and snarled. "Hobbes, why are you doing this?! Why are you -"

"CALVIN!"

Susie saw Mr. Johnson running towards his son, his face redder than an overripe tomato. "That toilet is not going to scrub itself!"

Calvin began running away. "Come on, Hobbes, let's book it!"

Hobbes placed his hands on his hips. "No. No, I don't think I will."

Calvin couldn't respond to that, because Mr. Johnson grabbed him a second later. "And there will be no dessert, and bedtime is now 7:00, young man!"

"Put me down this instant!"

Hobbes and Susie both rolled their eyes together, before looking at each other.

"What time do you want me to come over?" Hobbes asked.

"Probably around 9 in the morning or so. Just come in the backyard."

Hobbes nodded. "That can be done. I will see you tomorrow, Susie."

And with that, Hobbes walked away, leaving Susie with hope in her mind. Hope that Hobbes could make tomorrow a little easier to bare.


	4. A Second Home

"Well…this is it," Susie whispered as she and Hobbes got out of Mr. Derkins' car. She took a good look at the apartment complex that her father now called home. It was lined with tan bricks, with maroon roofing. Mr. Derkins locked the car behind them and began walking towards the entrance, with Susie following alongside her feline companion. Susie had a bag of toys and clothes that she carried alongside her.

"Well, as far as apartments go, this could certainly look a lot worse," Hobbes whispered back to Susie.

"Hmm, I guess," Susie replied.

Mr. Derkins peered over. "What was that, Susie?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

Susie perked up. "Oh, um…" she said as she cupped her chin. "Nothing, nothing."

Mr. Derkins left it at that, and they walked by several garages that were the same color as the main complex. They walked up the stairs to the back door, which was black with glass panels. Mr. Derkins opened the door for his daughter. There was another door right in front of them, and Mr. Derkins fiddled with his keys before he found the one that unlocked that door. They walked into the building, which had navy blue carpeting all around. They walked down the stairs and saw several gray doors all across the floor. They headed towards one on the side, and Mr. Derkins unlocked that one.

"Alright, Susie," he began as he pushed the door open. "I know it isn't much, but I hope you like it."

And with that, Susie entered the apartment with Hobbes. It was a tiny place, with no deck due to it being on the bottom floor. The walls were tan, with a brown couch in the center of the living room alongside a television that sat atop a stand that had dozens of movies within it. Susie looked around and saw the kitchen right next to the living room. And across the hallway were two bedrooms and one bathroom.

"It looks very nice," Susie said, looking around.

"Let me show you your room," Mr. Derkins said. So she followed him down the hall and her room was straight ahead. The door was open, so she was able to get a good look inside. The walls were red, and there was a white bed at the left edge of the room alongside another TV that stood atop a dresser. There was also a closet on the other side of the room.

"I promise I'll work on making it more comfortable," Mr. Derkins said.

"That's fine, Daddy. This should do for now."

"Thank you, Sweetie. Now, I have to make a call really quick."

Mr. Derkins headed out of the room, leaving Susie alone with Hobbes.

"You're sure that this is fine?" Hobbes said almost immediately after Mr. Derkins walked away. "This room could definitely use some improvements."

Susie shrugged. "I know there's not much to it, but my Dad is trying his best. He just moved here, after all. He has plenty of time to add some more stuff to it."

Hobbes scoffed. "He better use that time wisely."

Susie looked around. "Soooo…what do you want to do?"

"Wanna play outside?"

"I don't know about that. Daddy said that this part of town is more public, so kids as young as us can't be let out of their parents' sight."

Hobbes sat down and crossed his arms. "Well, that certainly puts a dent on things, doesn't it?"

"Now, now, Hobbes," Susie said, raising her arms up as she unzipped the bag that she had with her. "I was thinking we could play a game of Doctor with Mr. Bun."

Hobbes bit his lip. "I guess so, if we can't go outside."

Susie pulled out Mr. Bun and some medical toys. She picked up a pink stethoscope. "Alright, Hobbes, pretend that you have the Bubonic Plague."

Hobbes scoffed. "The Bubonic Plague?! Why on Earth would I have the Bubonic Plague?!"

"You should have a serious disease."

Hobbes threw his hands up in the air. "Can't I just have a fever or something? Or maybe I've been having bad anxiety? Or my skin's been scratching. Just something that isn't the Bubonic Plague!"

"Oh, for Pete's sake, Hobbes! Stop being such a baby and let me treat you for the disease!"

"Well, it's a pretty rare disease," Hobbes pointed out as Susie pressed the bottom of the stethoscope onto his chest. "Are you sure you know how to treat it?"

Susie chuckled. "Of course I do. I'm not just any doctor, I'm a Nobel Prize winner. I'm one of the best doctors in the world."

"Well, Calvin always goes on about what a boy genius he is, yet he messes things up all the time."

Susie narrowed her eyes at him. "Just let me cure you of the dang plague, will you?"

Hobbes was silent for a few minutes, allowing Susie to play her game of doctor and pull out more of her medical tools. Truth be told, she had no idea how she would cure the Bubonic Plague if Hobbes actually had it, but this was just a game. After some time had passed, she grinned.

"There you go, all done!" Susie exclaimed giddily. "You have been completely cured of the Bubonic Plague, Hobbes."

"Finally. May I please have some tuna now?"

Susie's smile faded. "Um, I don't think my dad will have any tuna."

Hobbes shot out a glare in response, accompanied by a growl. "Any home worth its salt would have some tuna."

"Well, I'm sure there's more food that you can have. I know tigers eat more than just tuna, after all."

"But tuna simply has that special taste to it, you know?"

Susie crossed her arms. "Dad may have some pork or beef. Will that do?"

Hobbes cupped his chin and thought about it for a moment. "Alright, fine -"

Just then, Mr. Derkins opened the door. "Alright, let's head out for a bite really quick."

And with that, the matter was evidently solved. What food Mr. Derkins had in his fridge mattered little now.

* * *

"I'm not particularly hungry," Hobbes said as he and Susie waited in the line of a Wendy's restaurant.

Susie narrowed her eyes. "Right before we left the apartment, you were pining for tuna."

"Yeah, but I know Wendy's doesn't serve tuna, so I'm not hungry."

Susie rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Hobbes."

They waited as Mr. Derkins ordered, and paid for, the food that they would be having. He moved away from the register so that someone else in line could order their food, and he motioned his hand for Susie to come along with him.

Since this was a fast food joint, they only had to wait for a minute or two, before Mr. Derkins' name was called and he went to get their food tray.

They found a booth at the end of the Wendy's to sit at. Mr. Derkins began to dig into his meal, smacking his lips a smidge as he did so. Susie looked at her burger and fries. She had decided to develop a new routine when it came to food like this: Eat half the main meal, then consume the side meal in its entirety, and then finish off the main meal. So she took several bites of her burger, then moved onto the fries.

Hobbes looked at Susie and said, "You know, there's a Target nearby. You should ask if your Dad it -"

"We're not getting tuna," Susie interjected. She did not look at Hobbes when she spoke to him. Suddenly, she heard her father ask, "Erm, what?"

Susie looked up, flustered. "Oh. Um, nothing…"

"It's okay. I know you're talking to the tiger. Imaginary friends are nothing to worry about. Just don't let Mr. Bun feel left out."

Susie giggled at her dad's joke.

Mr. Derkins scratched his head. "Say, doesn't that Calvin kid have a stuffed tiger that looks just like that? He takes it everywhere with him when he pulls all his pranks."

Susie bit her lip. "Oh yes, Daddy. I know alllll about that."

Then Mr. Derkins looked around. "Alright, there's few other people here, so I'm going to use the restroom really quick. Do not leave this spot, Susie, and avoid eye contact with anyone that might look suspicious."

Susie nodded, and Mr. Derkins walked away, leaving his daughter alone with Hobbes.

"So, Hobbes," Susie said, looking at the tiger this time. "Where do you normally sleep?"

"Calvin and I normally divide his bed between us. He has his side and I have my side. Sometimes we bicker and argue over it, but that's how it is."

Susie cupped her chin, and thought about it for a moment. "Mr. Bun is always my bedmate. I wonder what it would be like to have two animals sleeping in the bed with me…"

Of course, there was a pretty big difference between Hobbes and Mr. Bun, one that made Susie think that it may be unfair to make Hobbes sleep on the floor while her lifeless stuffed rabbit got to snuggle in bed with her.

"Well, well, well, look who it is,"

Susie's thoughts were interrupted when she heard an unusually deep voice for a six-to-seven-year old boy. She turned her head to the right, and there he was. Moe.

Susie groaned, only replying with a firm "Hello."

Moe chuckled. "How are you doing, Sunshine? Still playing with those crummy dolls?"

"You could certainly say that."

"Say, why you do have Twinky's teddy bear with you? Is your dumb bunny not enough for you anymore?"

Susie groaned again. "Because I just do. And don't insult Mr. Bun like that. Please go away."

"I'll go away after you give me a dollar."

Moe extended his hand for Susie to give him that dollar. Susie looked around the restaurant – whoever Moe's parents were, they seemed completely indifferent to what he was doing.

"Let's move it, Sunshine? Give me the dollar right now."

Susie barked back, "Go away, Moe! I'm here with my Dad because he gets to have me for the day, and I don't need you ruining it!"

Moe's smirk faded away. "Your Dad gets to have you…wait…." he said, cupping his chin. "Your parents are getting a divorce, aren't they?"

Susie nodded, raising an eyebrow at the same time.

Moe sighed. "My parents got a divorce last year. It was bad. They screamed at each other all night long. I could never go to sleep when I heard them arguing."

Susie blinked and her stern glare towards Moe softened. "I'm sorry to hear that. My parents are going out of their way to make sure it's not rough for me."

Moe shot a warm smile towards Susie. "That's good. You're lucky. I'll let you off the hook this one time, because I know what it's like. Give me a dollar next time, though."

And with that, Moe walked away, just as Susie could see Mr. Derkins coming out of the bathroom.

"CALL ME A 'BEAR' AGAIN!" Hobbes screamed at the top of his lungs, though Susie knew that she was the only one whose ears would be hurting from it. "THIS IS THE SECOND TIME NOW THAT YOU'VE MESSED UP, SO I DARE YOU! I DARE YOU TO CALL ME A 'BEAR' ONE MORE TIME, BUDDY!"

Hobbes began leaning too close to Susie, forcing her to try and push him back. "It's okay, Hobbes. Calm down. Calm down. Moe's not the brightest boy. Don't let him get to you."

Hobbes shot a death glare in Moe's direction for a few seconds, with Susie swearing she could almost see steam coming out of his ears. But Mr. Derkins sat back down at the table, and the father and daughter proceeded to finish their food without any further incident.

* * *

Later, Mr. Derkins stopped his car at his soon-to-be-ex-wife's house, pulling up in the driveway.

"Alright, Susie, I hope today went well," Mr. Derkins said from the front seat.

"It was just fine, Daddy," Susie said in response.

"Have a good rest of your day, sweetie."

Susie and Hobbes got out of the car, and as they walked up to the front steps, Susie looked over her shoulder and saw Mr. Derkins driving away. The little girl let out a sigh.

"Thank you, Hobbes."

Hobbes looked down at Susie. "For what?"

"Today should have felt weird. It was the beginning of a new chapter in my life, one where my parents are no longer together. It should have been a surreal experience. But it wasn't. It felt like a normal day. And I think that was because you were around."

Susie chuckled. "It's funny. Here you are, a talking tiger that I saw as a stuffed toy mere days ago, and you helped today feel normal."

Susie could no longer help it. She lunged towards Hobbes and hugged him, burying her face in his fur. "Thank you so much."

Susie felt Hobbes patting her head with his paws. "Don't mention it at all."

"I promise I'll have my Dad get tuna for the apartment."

"It's no trouble. Calvin's probably been missing me all day long. Either that, or he got in trouble for something. I should get going either way. Have a good rest of your day."

"You too."

And with that, the two parted ways. Susie saw Hobbes heading back towards Calvin's house, while she saw Mrs. Derkins waiting for her at the front steps. Susie decided that she was just going to stay inside and have a quiet rest of her day.


	5. Calvin's Limit

Several weeks had passed since Susie had first gone with Hobbes to see her father's apartment. She got out of bed, rubbing her eyes before leaving her room, dragging Mr. Bun alongside her.

Her mother was already making breakfast for the day, and when Susie entered the kitchen, she was greeted by the sight of pancakes, scrambled eggs, and bacon. She sat down at the table, and her mother took a seat alongside her.

"So, honey, I want to let you know something," Mrs. Derkins began after she took a bite out of her scrambled eggs. "Your father and I are making great progress on the joint custody. I hope you weren't worrying too much."

Susie bit her lip for a moment. There was indeed one thing that been aching at the back of her mind. She took a moment to finish one of her pancakes before she looked over to her mom.

"I've been wondering….school starts next week. I know I took the bus for kindergarten and first grade, but what will happen now that I have two homes?"

Mrs. Derkins let out an 'mmm'. "Well, you won't be taking the bus anymore. Your father will take you and pick you up on the days that he has you. When I have you, I will drop you off and then your grandma has agreed to pick you up and bring you over to the house. She'll watch you until I can come home from work."

"So I'll be spending more time with Grandma then?"

"Yes, sweetie."

Well, that was one thing about this that Susie could smile about, at least. The mother and daughter took a few minutes to finish up their breakfast in peace, chewing on their food with a gentle demeanor to them each. Susie only had one weekend left of her summer, she realized, and she began rushing her food into her mouth so that she could be done with it. As much as she enjoyed learning stuff at school, she wanted to savor this particular week.

"Susie, it won't kill you to eat a little more slowly!" Mrs. Derkins said as she had one pancake left on her own plate.

"Sorry, Mom. I just really want to get outside and have tea with Mr. Bun."

"I understand, I understand. Will Hobbes be joining this tea party?"

Susie rubbed her neck. "I'm not quite sure, yet. I still have to get that all sorted out before the tea party begins."

Mrs. Derkins swallowed a bite of the pancakes. "I must say, it's oddly nice of Calvin to let you play with his tiger. He's seemed fiercely loyal of that toy before, so it's a pleasant surprise."

"Yes it is, yes it is."

Shortly after that, Susie finished her food. She excused herself and immediately went outside with Mr. Bun to see what Calvin and Hobbes were up to. She was greeted by the sight of Mr. Johnson throwing his fists up into the air while Calvin growled.

"You mean to tell me that the reason these bushes haven't been doing well is because you're peeing on them at night?!" Mr. Johnson shouted down at his son.

"Geez, Dad, you wanna raise your voice? I don't think the people in Russia heard you quite clearly!"

"Don't you dare make any smart remarks towards me, young man!"

Then Mrs. Johnson rushed over to the scene, grunting. She placed her hand on Mr. Johnson's shoulder.

"Dear, he's got a point there. This is a tad embarrassing. We really don't want the neighbors knowing about this…"

Calvin placed his hands on his hips and grinned ear-to-ear. "See, Dad. Mom gets that."

Mrs. Johnson shot a glare towards her son. "Oh, that does not mean you're off the hook, mister. Go to your room for the rest of the morning!"

Calvin charged away. "You'll have to catch me first!"

Calvin ran towards the woods, like he had done on the day after Susie discovered Hobbes' living form. His parents both went after him.

"Get your butt over here right now!" Mrs. Johnson shouted as she and Mr. Johnson both pursued him.

From the corner of her eye, she could see Hobbes walking over to the bushes where Calvin and his parents had just been fighting at. He leaned over to get a closer look at them, before he noticed Susie and walked over to her.

Susie grimaced. "Does Calvin really pee on the bushes?"

Hobbes nodded. "He does it all the time, because of the monsters under his bed."

Susie narrowed her eyes and her mouth went agape. "You know what? I'm not even going to touch that can of worms. Anyway, would you like to come to my tea party today?"

Now the tiger was the one grimacing. "Oh, I don't know if I can. Calvin and I have a pretty tight schedule today, especially since you both start second grade next week."

They both looked over when they saw Calvin running out of the woods, with his parents still following suit.

"You're only making it worse for yourself!" Mr. Johnson barked towards him.

"Can Spaceman Spiff escape these grotesque Zartons?!" Calvin shouted as he charged forward.

Susie looked back at Hobbes. "First of all, what's that Spaceman Spiff character that Calvin likes to pretend to be, and secondly, it seems like he won't be able to keep to that schedule himself."

Hobbes cupped his chin. "Well, he never really talks about Spaceman Spiff to me. He seems to want to keep that fantasy to himself and leave me out of it, not that that I'm complaining."

And then he threw his arms up into the air. "And secondly…you make a fair point. I suppose ten minutes of tea time won't ruin our day at this point."

"Excellent!"

And with that, Susie and Hobbes began going over to her backyard so that they could have yet another tea party. Susie didn't miss the tea parties that she had spent with just Mr. Bun, but at the same time, she had been looking forward to the idea of Hobbes joining them again.

* * *

And so Susie and Hobbes went about with their latest tea party, with Hobbes sipping down his beverage while Susie briefly chatted with Mr. Bun about something.

Hobbes gulped. "So, Susie, how did Orientation go for you?'

Susie cleared her throat. "It went well, mostly…though I have Calvin in my class again."

"So I've heard."

"Yeah, he definitely made no attempt at hiding himself, let me tell you. Our new teacher is much younger and more laid-back than Ms. Wormwood ever was, but even she was trying to hide how exasperated she was with Calvin. And then -"

Hobbes raised his finger up to tell Susie to shush, while his ears twitched.

"Calvin," he whispered towards her.

And right as he said that, Calvin darted out from the bushes with a water balloon in hand.

"This will show you for leaving me for Susie!" Calvin shouted with a glare on his face.

But Hobbes dodged the water balloon, and it hit the side of Susie Derkins' table instead.

Susie clenched her fists and teeth. "Darnit, Calvin, we just dried out this cloth!"

"Well, that's what you get for stealing Hobbes for me!" Calvin shouted back.

He ran back into the bushes, and Susie saw Hobbes going after him. But before the tiger could bounce upon the boy, he was struck by another water balloon.

"Ha ha! Water balloon fight!"

Calvin ran back into the backyard.

Susie looked at Hobbes, scratching her head. "I don't understand. Weren't his parents trying to send him to his room."

Hobbes rolled his eyes. "Oh, knowing Calvin, he's duped them one way or another. One time in the winter, he created footprints in the opposite direction so his parents would look for him one way while he headed off the other way."

"I see, I see. Well, in any case, we need to prepare for his return."

Hobbes grabbed out some unfilled water pockets and let out a smirk. Susie blinked.

"Um, Hobbes…where were you keeping those?"

Hobbes chuckled. "Well, wouldn't you like to know?"

So the duo spent around a minute filling up those water balloons, and when they had a stack of around eight, they could hear Calvin yelling as he came back with more water balloons.

He had an enormous smirk on his face, but before he could do anything, Susie and Hobbes both threw water balloons at him. He was able to dodge the one that Hobbes threw, only to be struck by Susie's.

Susie and Hobbes both began to laugh. However, Susie looked up for just a moment, and saw that Calvin's face had now turned the color of blood, and he was sneering louder than a bull could ever hope to.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, you jerks! So is this how it is now, Hobbes?! Are you going to go live with Susie at this point? Am I supposed to be left all alone?!"

Hobbes stopped his laughter and began stuttering. "C-Calvin, n-no, I wouldn't -"

"How do you think I've felt, Hobbes?!" Calvin interrupted, pointing at Hobbes and stepping a few inches closer to him. "It's been rough, seeing you with Susie! Don't you get it?! You're the most important person in my life, and without you, there's nothing for me!"

Hobbes and Susie both blinked, while tears began to flow from Calvin's eyes at a rapid pace, and he began sniffling every other moment.

"The time machine, the duplicator, the transmogrifier…what fun are any of them if I can't show them to you! And our wagon rides! I love our wagon rides! I can wax deep philosophy with you that the other kids wouldn't really get! And the pouncing. Now, it does annoy me when you pounce, don't get me wrong. But…but…"

Calvin sat down, tears still flowing from his eyes.

"I guess it's nice knowing that someone actually misses me when I'm not around."

Calvin buried his face in his hands. "Everyone else looks down up me! Susie, I know you do! And fine! I might as well come out and say it!"

Calvin raised his head up and looked at Susie. "I like you, Susie! Deep down, I like being around you. You're the only person at school who doesn't immediately turn away at the sight of me! We're mean to each other, and I prank you and you snitch, but we don't really know any better!"

Calvin got back up on his feet, and turned his attention from Susie to Hobbes. "Hobbes…you're my best friend. Meeting you is probably the best thing that will ever happen to me. Many of my happiest memories…they involve you."

Calvin began stuttering for a few moments, before he finally took a deep breath. "I just-I just-I just-I just want you back, Hobbes. That's all I want."

There was a very long silence as Susie looked down at the ground and Hobbes cupped his chin, while Calvin sniffled a little.

Then Hobbes let out a deep sigh.

"Calvin, I'm sorry," Hobbes said as he placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Let me explain."

There was a moment of pause as Calvin looked up at the tiger.

"Calvin, the nature of my existence isn't like the nature of your existence, or Susie's, or your parents'. Until a few weeks ago, you were the only one who could see me in this form. No one else besides you or Susie can see me this way."

Hobbes waved his hand around. "Now imagine having only one person in this whole world to talk to. Imagine only being able to talk to that one person. That was my life. So when Susie suddenly saw me in this form, it was extremely refreshing to have another person to talk to."

Hobbes sighed again. "It was wrong of me to outright neglect you. I will admit that much. But also, now that I have a second person who I can interact with, I want to take advantage of that. Does that sound fair?"

Calvin sniffled. "I…I guess so."

Susie walked up to Calvin as well. "Deep down, I enjoy being around you as well. You can be really weird, but I guess I sort of like that about you. Even if sometimes, you're a creep."

A small but warm smile crept onto Calvin's face at her remark. And Susie found that she couldn't help but return the smile to him.

"I think I know what'll make the day better," Hobbes said, standing back up straight.

Susie and Calvin both looked up at him, raising their eyebrows.

"A game of Calvinball!"

Calvin's eyes widened, he began jumping up in the air, and he laughed. "Yes, Calvinball! Oh boy oh boy oh boy! I want nothing more than to play a game of Calvinball!"

Susie scratched her head. "What on Earth is Calvinball!"

Calvin chuckled. "Oh, it's a pretty wild game! Hobbes and I like to shake it up each time! I'll go get the ball!"

Susie looked over at Hobbes.

"Let's just say that the only real rule of Calvinball is that you can't play it the same way twice."

Susie let out a 'huh' to that, and it was only a few moments before Calvin came back with a volleyball, three domino masks, and several over game items.

"Put this on, Susie!' Calvin said as he handed her one of the masks.

"Well, this should be different…" Susie said as she obliged to Calvin's request.

"Alright, let's get to playing some Calvinball!" Hobbes shouted.

And so they performed multiple tasks with the game, from hitting the ball with a hammer, to running around in bags, to working around special zones that required certain instructions, such as talking really fast or fidgeting around.

From the corner of Susie's eye, she could see Calvin's parents exiting the woods. They looked as if they would be ready to ground Calvin once more. But then they simply stood there, and watched as he played this game with Susie. When Hobbes and Calvin began to bicker about a certain rule, Susie saw them throwing up their arms in the air and going over into the front yard.

"We'll deal with him when he's done playing with Susie," Mrs. Johnson said.

When the game resumed, Susie perked up, and she grinned while hitting the ball with one of the hammers. She laughed along with Calvin and Hobbes as the three of them ran around.

Susie hit the ball towards the bushes by her house.

"Alright, Susie, now you have to -"

When Calvin explained the rule, it was something stupid, but Susie just laughed along.

She would enjoy their company very much.


	6. Friends For Life

_Eighteen Years Later _

Calvin and Susie walked around the streets of their town, with the moon gleaming in the night sky above. The two had just gotten back from a trip to Miami, and now they had to adjust to the cold winter that had spread back home. Susie wore a scarf, a thick coat, and winter boots, but even then, she still felt a bit cold.

There weren't that many other people walking around the streets tonight. This made Susie raise an eyebrow, as the night was still young. Though they weren't exactly in one of America's biggest cities.

Susie took a look at her boyfriend. His face was less chubby than it had been when they were kids, but he still had that same spiky hair that he sported from those days. And not only that, but he also had a goatee on his chin now. The two walked around, holding hands.

"So, Calvin," Susie began as they neared the bar they were approaching. "You remember Rosalyn?"

Calvin returned eye contact with Susie. "Oh, yes, I do. Jeez, did I give her a hard time in school. Why?"

"Well, I just saw on Facebook that she's moved all the way to Canada. She got accepted as researcher for the University of Toronto!"

Calvin chuckled. "Well, good for her. It's funny. I spent so much time getting on her behind, but if I knew she was into paleontology, she would've been my favorite person in the whole world."

"Well, everything is all good now, and that's what's important."

The two didn't say much to each other for the rest of the walk, which only lasted another minute or two. They found the bar that they were looking for and walked in. It had dark blue doorways and marble flooring, and there were a few groups of people sitting at the tables. Calvin and Susie, however, went straight to the bar itself, where Moe was bartending.

Moe had grown a thick five o'clock shadow over time, and he waved over at Calvin and Susie. He had patched things up with the two in high school, and was now one of their closest friends.

"Well, well, I thought you guys were coming back tomorrow," he began as Calvin and Susie both leaned at the end of the bar. "How was Miami?"

"It was simply a blast," Susie answered. "I love it here, but it was nice to get away from the winter weather for a few days and enjoy myself at the beach."

Moe nodded. "Right, right, I know that feeling. Was Jungle Island great? I haven't been there in a long time."

"You would still love it," Calvin said in response, crossing his arms. "Definitely the best part of the trip."

Susie then reached into her pocket and grabbed something. "In fact, Moe, we got you a little gift."

Moe had been gushing about how much he missed Jungle Island shortly before Calvin and Susie departed for their trip, and Susie decided to get him a small gift from the park. "Here's a hat and a shirt in your size from the park for you."

Moe perked up and smiled as Susie handed the gifts over to him. "Oh my God, you shouldn't have. Thank you so much."

Susie nodded. "Not a problem at all. Calvin and I can't stay, unfortunately. We were gonna watch a movie at home."

"But since it's a bit of a slow night here," Calvin added as Susie grabbed some of his papers from her purse. "I know how much you like my _Spiff _cartoons. You want to see more of them real quick before we go?"

Moe nodded, and Susie placed the strips onto the bar for Moe to see. Calvin had been working towards being a cartoonist, with several ideas such as a superhero named Stupendous Man and a detective named Tracer Bullet. The one Susie had seen him put the most effort and creativity into was _Spaceman Spiff_. Susie imagined that Calvin just remembered all the times he pretended to be Spaceman Spiff and then he would use those memories as the inspiration for his strips.

Susie saw Moe look at the strips for a moment, before he began laughing out loudly. "Calvin, I'm not just saying this because we're friends. I really mean it. You have a potential goldmine with this strip. The daily funnies just haven't been the same since _The Far Side _ended and Garfield became even more stale than _The Simpsons_. They really need something like _Spiff _right now."

Calvin rubbed his neck. "Thanks, man. That means a lot."

Susie tapped Calvin's shoulder. "Alright, hon, we should get going. We'll see you soon, Moe!"

The two said their goodbyes to Moe before they walked out of the bar and started walking to Susie's car. Susie checked her phone again and saw that she had a text from her mother, asking her if she could come over tomorrow and help her set up something on her wifi. She showed it to Calvin, who chuckled.

"Well, hey, at least it was easier to convince your mom to get wifi than my dad. I went to see him right before we left for our trip, and he spent half the time complaining about the Internet before Mom put on his favorite movie to keep him quiet."

"That sounds like your dad, alright."

Susie then remembered that her mom had tried to get Mr. Derkins to help with her Wifi, only for him to be just as clueless as she was. She smiled at that. She smiled at the fact that her parents still got along as friends, even after all of these years. And Calvin's parents were still married and living in the same house that Calvin had grown up in.

"Speak of the devil," Calvin said, interrupting Susie's thoughts. "My Dad just texted me about how his Blu Rau is acting up. He's ranting again about how life was better with the VCRs and yadda yadda yadda."

The two chatted about their parents, hand in hand, until they reached Susie's car. She unlocked it and got in the driver's seat, turning the key in the ignition and started their drive home.

"So what do you want our next big trip to be?" Calvin asked.

Susie kept her eyes on the road while answering, "Not now, Calvin. We literally just got back from Miami. We have bills and rent to worry about for a while. Give it like six months and then we can discuss where we'll go next."

"Oh, come on, babe. What about Vegas? Doesn't Vegas sound like it would be fun?"

Susie shook her head. She refused to ever go to Las Vegas after the stories her uncle would tell her about. And then she perked up, remembering that Calvin's own Uncle Max had some troubles in Las Vegas as well.

"Calvin, I will never set foot in Vegas for as long as I live."

"Fine, fine. But what about San Diego?"

"That's a much better option. But like I said, let's not talk about our big trip right now. Let's just get settled back in for a while."

There wasn't much said between the two after that, as Calvin evidently decided, wisely, that it would be best to end the conversation there. It was a fifteen-minute drive back to their apartment complex, which had gray brick walls and a flat rooftop. Susie went into the resident lot and parked her car there. After turning the ignition off, Calvin began to get out of the car, and Susie shut the door behind her. However, just before she locked the doors, she remembered some cans of tuna that were lying in the backseat, along with some cat toys. She quickly opened the back doors and pulled them out.

She saw Calvin standing there, with his hands in his pockets, waiting for her. He laughed.

"Good call. Our feline friend would've been ticked off if we came back empty handed."

"No kidding, he would be."

They walked towards the apartment complex and unlocked the security door with their key. Their apartment was on the bottom floor, and they walked down the stairs to see their brown door waiting for them. Calvin pulled out his key to unlock it, before he paused.

"Wait…aw, hell…are you sure you don't want to unlock the door?"

Susie took some steps back. She knew exactly what Calvin was thinking of. She grinned and shook her head. "I'm good. You got this, babe."

Calvin pressed his head towards the door, and then they unlocked the door with his key.

And just then, a familiar tiger pounced upon Calvin, sending him several feet away while Susie got out of their way.

Hobbes had actually managed to grow in size as well. Susie thought that she and Calvin would tower over him upon hitting their growth spurts, but he grew around the same time as they did and was on eye level with them. Aside from that, and wearing a black t-shirt, Hobbes looked exactly the same as he did when Calvin and Susie were kids.

"Damn you, Hobbes," Calvin uttered, to which both Hobbes and Susie giggled.

"I do hope that you both got me something good from Miami," Hobbes said in response as the three walked back into their apartment. Their apartment was a small one, with tan walls and peach carpeting, and the kitchen shunted off to the side.

"I'm still salty that I wasn't invited to Miami," Hobbes said as he jumped onto the couch.

Calvin shrugged. "What can I say? Susie and I wanted some time for ourselves. Also, being forced into a suitcase seems like it would be awful for you."

Susie went over to the kitchen, placing her car keys and the tuna on the counter, and went to grab the bread and make herself a quick sandwich and a bowl of chips…only to see an empty spot on the top of the fridge, where the bread was supposed.

"Hoooooooooobbes!" Susie yelled, narrowing her eyes. "We told you not to eat all of the bread and chips!"

"You guys were gone were nearly a week! What did you want me to do?!" Hobbes said from back in the living room.

Susie walked back towards her boyfriend and 'pet', and saw Calvin shaking his head. Calvin shot a glare at Hobbes, his hands on his hips. "You really do want to be made into a rug one of these days, don't you?"

"If I had a dollar for every time you've threatened me with that, I'd be as rich as Scrooge McDuck."

"Well then you could buy us a mansion and cater to us until the day we die," Susie snarked as she sat down at the edge of the couch.

Calvin pointed to their bedroom. "Alright, Hobbes, off the couch with you. Susie and I are going to watch some TV."

Hobbes groaned. "But the couch is comfier than your bed."

"I don't care. Off the bed with you."

Susie scratched Hobbes' face, to which he rubbed her leg. "Actually, Hobbes, you may want to rest at that big tree for a while."

Hobbes narrowed his eyes. "Oh, don't tell me. You guys are going to try and make a baby tonight, aren't you?"

Calvin shook his head. "Correction: We _will _be making a baby tonight. Now off the couch with you, mister."

Calvin grabbed out their weapon that they had to resort to when all else failed: A laser pointer. He pointed it towards the wall, and Hobbes flew off the couch in a vain attempt to catch the laser.

After the laser was turned off, Hobbes growled. He got over it five seconds later, however, and he brushed his arms and licked himself. Then he eyed his two owners. "Say, you guys remembered that tuna, right?"

Susie pointed forward. "In the kitchen, along with some souvenirs from Miami."

"Alright then," Hobbes remarked as he got up on his feet. "I will be grabbing my food and then heading outside. I will see you both tomorrow, when I don't have to hear you in bed."

"Don't forget to grab the spare key this time!" Susie said as she turned the TV on.

She and Calvin cuddled together on the couch while they could hear Hobbes grabbing one of their spare key and heading out of the door, shutting it behind him. Hobbes always went to the big tree near their complex to rest until morning when Calvin and Susie decided to add some excitement to their night.

Susie rested her head on Calvin's shoulder as the television played. She smiled at what her life was. She was dating the guy she loved deep down from day one, with hopes of having a baby and probably getting married one day. And while there were technically no pets allowed in their apartment, they got around that by having a tiger that only the two of them could see was alive. Susie had wondered what would become of Hobbes as they got older, and she loved the fact that he was still in their lives.

Of course, there was the fact that Hobbes wanted to attend their wedding, but Susie decided that they would cross that bridge when they got there.

She pressed her head tighter into Calvin's shoulder, and Calvin wrapped his arms around her. And Susie couldn't think of anything else she could possibly want in that moment.

* * *

**Wow, the world has gotten a lot crazier this past month, because of a certain virus. Well, I hope that in these chaotic times, this story brightened your day just a little and that you are all doing well :)**


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